. >> turn on the tv and with kids shows like "ni hao, kai-lan," and "dora the explorer," children are already being exposeded to foreign languages at a young age. there are even language dvds like lil' kim teaching little ones languages, like spanish, mandarin and french. there's a magic window for kids, of four to six years old it's effortless for them to learn, one, two, even three languages and that's why it's important to start early, there are sensitive periods where you're more effective at learning languages and infancy tends to be a period of time where it's easier to absorb. >> studies show learning a foreign language can help students in other areas. >> academically, someone who knows another language are often better readers and writers and they score high on iq tests. >> it opens up her mind and if she can learn it now when it's easy, good for her. why wait? >> and while mandarin is on the rise, spanish is taught almost universally. 80% of elementary schools and 93% of middle schools and high schools offer spanish. >> spanish and mandarin are popular. >> it's certainly up